Opinion
Editorial

Editorial: More apologies due in hijab-cutting tale

Postmedia Network

Thursday, January 18, 2018
5:59:01 EST PM

Khawlah Noman wipes a tear from her eye, (Shari Schwartz-Maltz, TDSB spokesperson in back) , and her brother Mohammad Zakarijja appeared before the media with their mom Saima Samad, to talk about the assault that happened to Khawlah on their way to Pauline Johnson Public School in Scarborough. (Toronto Sun)

There was understandable outrage when Canadians first heard an 11-year-old girl had been assaulted twice by a man who tried to cut her hijab from her head with scissors.

It seemed a shocking attack that fuelled public concern, understandably among Muslims in particular, that hate is growing and ubiquitous in this country.

There was understandable anger from the child’s mom, outrage from the school board officials, who trotted the girl out in front of television cameras and reporters, and more outrage from political leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Toronto Mayor John Tory.

Except, as we now know, the assault never happened.

We also know police quickly determined the story was a hoax and that school board officials needlessly shoved an 11-year-old into a limelight she couldn’t possibly understand, without bothering to wait for the facts. Why was a press conference necessary?

And we know our political leaders blamed intolerance without reasonable evidence.

The girl’s family has had the tremendous grace to apologize.

“We are deeply sorry for the pain and anger that our family has caused in the past several days,” they said in a statement. “When we arrived at the school on Friday, we were informed what happened and assumed it to be true, just like everyone else.”

Canadians should show compassion and forgiveness toward this child and her parents. This child was victimized by authority figures around her, who assumed the worse and who couldn’t wait to turn her into a poster child for their own agendas.

Canadians also deserve an apology from the city’s school board, the PM, the premier and all those who pointed at hate to explain troubling circumstances, and who still refuse to acknowledge the damage of false accusations.

Hate is real and profoundly dangerous. That was made tragically apparent a year ago when a despicable man hell-bent on terror killed six Canadians and injured 19 others worshipping in a Quebec City mosque.

Jews, Muslims and others have unacceptably been subjected to growing numbers of hate-inspired assaults in recent years.

But hate and ignorance doesn’t define us. Canadians are among the most tolerant and accepting people in the world.